New 2-mile hike and bike trail planned for Folsom Drive

Dan Wallac, Beaumont Enterprise

By Dan Wallach

Updated 12:08 pm, Wednesday, October 31, 2012

Plans are underway for a second Hike and Bike trail to be built between Major Drive and Dowlen Road near Folsom Drive. Walkers and cyclists have been regularly using the current trail near West Brook High School since its completion in
Photo taken Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise
Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Plans are underway for a second Hike and Bike trail to be built...

Diana Thronton walks the Beaumont Hike and Bike Trail Tuesday while geo searching hidden items. Plans are underway for a second Hike and Bike trail to be built between Major Drive and Dowlen Road near Folsom Drive.
Photo taken Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise
Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Monica Bradley walks the Beaumont Hike and Bike Trail Tuesday. Plans are underway for a second Hike and Bike trail to be built between Major Drive and Dowlen Road near Folsom Drive.
Photo taken Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise
Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Monica Bradley walks the Beaumont Hike and Bike Trail Tuesday....

Janna Shaffer pulls Bella Shaffer, 3, while walking the Beaumont Hike and Bike Trail. Plans are underway for a second Hike and Bike trail to be built between Major Drive and Dowlen Road near Folsom Drive.
Photo taken Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise
Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

Janna Shaffer pulls Bella Shaffer, 3, while walking the Beaumont...

Diana Thronton walks the Beaumont Hike and Bike Trail Tuesday while geo searching hidden items. Plans are underway for a second Hike and Bike trail to be built between Major Drive and Dowlen Road near Folsom Drive.
Photo taken Tuesday, October 30, 2012
Guiseppe Barranco/The Enterprise
Photo: Guiseppe Barranco, STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER

A new two-mile hike and bike trail will snake alongside Folsom Drive's south side between Major Drive and Dowlen Road, giving local bicycle riders, joggers and walkers a safer option than the nearby busy street.

The trail, a 10-foot wide concrete path with five feet clearance on either side, will have one end at Major and Folsom, across from Wesley United Methodist Church, and the other end at Dowlen Road and Metropolitan Drive, where the new Victory Medical Center is under construction.

The city of Beaumont applied for and received a grant of $826,417 from the Texas Department of Transportation. It will add a 20-percent match of $165,283 to cover the $991,700 cost to build the path.

The trail is not yet engineered, said city public works director Patrick Donart. When it is, the plans go to the state transportation department, which will build it. Donart said the plans could be finished by spring.